


A Blood Contract

by Seer_of_Soul



Category: Ghost Hunt
Genre: Based off the anime, I haven’t read the manga, kind of a prequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-18 18:19:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16522256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seer_of_Soul/pseuds/Seer_of_Soul
Summary: Not too long after the founding of Shibuya Psychic Research, the investigators get an odd request from a family across the world. When they investagate they find an odd haunting, unlike any they’ve seen before.





	1. Day 1: Introductions and oddities

**Author's Note:**

> I haven’t read the manga, so sorry if I get some details wrong. ^^\ I’ve tried to find it but haven’t seen anything. :<

Willow Elderwood emailed Shibuya Psychic Research on a heated summer’s day. She sounded desperate and tired, even over text. She said she’d supply any expense that the investigators needed, give them room and board, and otherwise begged them to come to her house. She said that something was following them, ever as they moved across the country. That fact was what got the attention of the investigators. So they accepted the job, traveling across the world to visit the Elderwood’s home. 

The house itself was a fairly standard two story western house, a few bedrooms and spare rooms. But Kazuya wasn’t sure what to think about the Elderwood family. The son was younger than Kazuya, although not by much. He was maybe fourteen or so, compared to Kazuya’s fifteen. He had dark brown hair and blue eyes that seemed to be evaluating Kazuya as much as Kazuya was evaluating him. The mother, Willow, the one who’d emailed him, was a slight woman in her forties. Her hair was a light blond and graying, possibly more from stress than from age. She was trembling slightly. The uncle, Willow’s sister’s husband wouldn’t stop glaring at Lin all though out their introductions. 

“Thank you so much for coming,” Willow said, hands clutched together. “I can’t thank you enough. We’re at the end of our rope. You’re our last hope.”

Kazuya held up his hand. “Mrs. Elderwood, please just tell us what you called us for.”

She looked taken aback for a split second, then nodded. “Right.... So, five years ago, we started experiencing strange things happening in our house; things would move on their own, there would be strange noises at night, fires would start all by themselves, and there was just the feeling that we were being watched... all the time. I... I couldn’t even sleep in that house anymore...! We did call an exorcist, who tried to purify the house, but it did nothing. If anything it made it worse! So... we moved. But... about a month after we moved in, it started again. So we called more exorcists and priests. But it didn’t do any good. So we moved again... and again... and again...! This is our tenth house in five years. We’ve moved across the country several times. And I just...! We can’t keep doing this.”

The boy placed his hand on his mother’s arm, patting it gently. “Mama has nightmares a lot.... And she keeps seeing all sorts of scary stuff....”

Kazuya looked at the boy. He looked perfectly fine, not tired like his mother or uncle. “What’s your name?”

“Ash.”

“Ash, you say your mother keeps seeing things...? Does that mean you don’t?”

Ash paused for a moment, then nodded. “I don’t see stuff very often. Maybe some stuff gets shuffled around while I’m asleep, but that’s not really anything I’d notice if I wasn’t looking for it.”

Kazuya raised his eyebrows, looking towards the uncle. “And you?”

The uncle bit his lip and looked away. “I’ve seen some stuff... not as much as Willow, but....”

Ash leaned forward to give his uncle a look that Kazuya couldn’t quite see. “Uncle Joe....”

“What?! I don’t!” He snapped, glaring at the boy. 

Ash hummed loudly, mockingly even. “Except the three times something’s been chucked at your head since Sunday. Or the time you got literally tied up in your blankets. Or when you almost caught fire while making eggs. All since Sunday.”

Joe sputtered. “That’s... That’s all just coincidence...!”

“Mr. Michaels...!” Lin spoke up for the first time. “Please don’t assign anything to coincidence. Any detail could lead us to finding the cause of these phenomena.”

The man shrank back, while the boy looked somewhat smug. Kazuya watched with a calculated attitude, ready to talk with Lin about what each of them had observed. “Mrs. Elderwood, do you have a room prepared like I asked?”

She nodded slightly. “Ah, yes. It’s right by the front door. You said you had equipment to move in?”

Kazuya nodded, standing up. “We’d like to set up cameras around the house if we can. That would help us observe the paranormal activity.”

“Please do. I just want this nightmare to end.” She bowed her hand, hands tightly gripping her skirt. Ash stood up. “Would you like some help?”

Lin nodded and beckoned for him to follow. Ash trotted out of the room after him. Before Kazuya could leave however, Willow grabbed his arm in a tight grip. “Can... can you keep Ash safe thorough this...? Every time we call a specialist the... those things get more violent. They get closer to Ash and... I couldn’t take it if I lost him too.” Kazuya paused, then gave a short nod. She relaxed greatly, slumping against the couch.   
.  
.  
.  
Ash proved to be a good deal stronger than he looked, lifting heavy boxes without overexerting himself. He helped Lin and Kazuya set up their equipment and watched with curiosity as the monitors flickered to life. 

“Why’s there cameras in the bedrooms?” He asked rather bluntly. 

“To monitor them,” Lin replied just as bluntly. 

“Oh. That makes sense.... I don’t wanna change in front of a camera.”

Kazuya fought the urge to roll his eyes. “We can turn them off when you change. And there’s the corner under the camera if you’re that concerned.”

Ash hummed thoughtfully, watching his mother walk down the hall. “Is there anything you need help with?”

“No, that’ll be all.” Kazuya waved his hand, trying to shoo the teenager out of the room so he could discuss things with Lin. 

Ash seemed to get the hint, turning and walking out of the room. “Let me know if you want some help again,” he called back as he closed the door. 

Kazuya waited until he saw Ash appear on the hallway camera before he started talking. “Do you think we’re dealing with a poltergeist?”

Lin tapped his finger against his lips. “I’m not sure. The boy is certainly old enough now, but five years ago... he’d be eight or nine. That’s pushing the age limit, since it’s mostly teens that cause poltergeists.”

“It’s obvious something is following this family. It couldn’t be a physical phenomenon that’s appeared in ten separate houses.” 

Lin nodded in agreement. “That seems to be the case. Perhaps the boy’s father had something to do with it? It might be worth asking about.”

Kazuya nodded, watching the monitors. Suddenly, one caught his attention. Something was distorting the image of the living room, right at the couch where the family had been sitting earlier. It looked like the couch was warping and bending. “Lin, patch in the sound from the living room. And get the thermal picture up.”

Lin turned a dial and flipped a switch almost automatically. The two of them heard creaking sounds in the living room, like the couch was actually being bent. But strangely, there was no cold readings. The room temperature was mostly the same. 

“Maybe it is a poltergeist after all....” Kazuya murmured, narrowing his eyes critically at the monitor. 

Lin suddenly grabbed his arm. “Kazuya, the second floor hall.”

Kazuya looked and saw an entire dresser being slowly moved across the ground. Lin cranked the volume, but there was barely any sound. “How is it able to move like that without making a sound?” Lin shook his head, not knowing the answer either. The dresser came to a stop in front of a door. There was a soft thump and then things were quiet again. The disturbance in the living room had disappeared as well. “Lin, what room is that?”

Lin checked the camera positions. “It seems to be the boy’s room.”

Kazuya tapped his finger against his lips. “Interesting. Where is he now?”

“He’s in there.” Lin pointed to the monitor that showed Ash’s room. He was splayed out on his bed, reading a book. His legs kicked in the air slightly, though he kept glancing towards where the camera was. 

“It’s a bit strange isn’t it...?” Kazuya mumbled, tilting his head. “Usually the spirits shy away from outsiders. And Ash said he didn’t experience any supernatural phenomena.”

“It seems a bit like a challenge...,” Lin mumbled, returning the camera settings to normal. Kazuya nodded, getting the sinking feeling that this case was going to be an odd one.


	2. Instant Gratification and Shadows

The strangest things happened around the boy. Things would move, like the hallway dresser, but then, before he could see that they’d move, everything was put back in nearly the same place. Kazuya was, irritatingly, dumbfounded. This haunting had such a distinct personality, he was almost impressed. By the time evening rolled around, Kazuya was determined to figure out this mystery. He set up his hypnosis machine, calling the family back to the living room. He left Lin to watch the monitors, to see if anything interesting would happen while he had the family distracted. 

Joe sat by himself, he’d apparently had an argument with Willow during the afternoon. Kazuya made a mental note to see if they had recorded any of it. 

Ash was fiddling with a small pendant necklace that Kazuya recognized as a pentagram, which was strange. The family had several crosses throughout their house hold, so he hadn’t thought they’d have pentagrams as well. But he brushed it off as an ‘one can never have too much protection’ ideology. But, he also made note to check and see how long the boy had worn the protective charm and if it contributed to the strange activity around him. 

Willow looked wilted. Her eyes were half closed and sunken. Her lips looked more chapped than she had appeared earlier that day. Kazuya hadn’t seen anything particularly unusual affecting her since that day. A few small items had moved a few inches just out of her line of sight, but nothing that would warrant this sudden half-dead look. 

Ash seemed to notice Kazuya’s examination of his mother. “Hey, mom?” He prodded. “Did you use another caffeine patch this morning?” 

Kazuya raised his eyebrows slightly. Oh. So that was it. 

Willow’s eyes slid over towards Ash, staring more past him than at him. She gave the smallest of nods. Ash sighed softly. “You’re gonna overdose on caffeine mom. You know those aren’t good for you.” She gave him a tired smile but otherwise didn’t respond. 

Kazuya cleared his throat, walking over to the light switch. He flipped them off and the hypnosis began. 

This item was a small plastic potted cactus. 

“Tonight. The cactus will move.”

Part way through Ash twitched violently, but he didn’t move after that. 

He turned the lights on suddenly, seeing each of them jump with a start. Ash was blinking rapidly, trying to clear the spots from his eyes. Willow was rubbing her eyes for the same reason. Joe just squeezed his eyes shut and groaned. Now for the test. Kazuya held up the plastic cactus, keeping an eye specifically on Ash. The twitch may have broken the trance enough for the hypnosis to not work. But, thankfully, all eyes were on the cactus. Kazuya felt a small sigh of relief escape through his nose. “Now, please go through out the rest of your evening as you would normally.”

Kazuya felt the pot in his hand jump. He froze, watching the cactus seem to wiggle on its own. Then it was ripped from his grasp and thrown across the room, bouncing off the wall with a hallow ‘clack.’ Kazuya stared at it with a dumbfounded look on his face. That was... not supposed to happen.

“Um....” Ash started. “Was that supposed to happen...?”

Kazuya forced his face back into a neutral expression, walking over towards the cactus. When it moved again, he froze. It spun around a few times and righted itself. Kazuya watched as it slowly levitated into the air, drifting over his head. Slowly, very slowly, it set down on the coffee table and stayed there. Kazuya blinked at it, then turned to look at the camera Lin was watching through. With a short sigh he released the family, marching back to Lin for a report.  
.  
.  
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“I didn’t pick up anything except for in the living room,” Lin reported. “Nothing moved at all. It was like all its attention was focused on the living room, just like the family’s.”

Kazuya tapped his finger against his lips, chewing the inside of his lip. “We should see if the same thing happens if the family is all together normally or it was just interested in what I was doing.” 

“Perhaps both,” Lin offered. 

Kazuya nodded slightly, watching Ash gather his night clothes. He gave a small wave to the camera and walked underneath it. Lin turned it off for two minutes, more than enough time for him to change. “Was there any abnormalities while I was performing the hypnosis?”

Lin nodded. “I was getting to that.” He rewound the video feed from the living room. “It’s... enlightening.”

Kazuya leaned forward, bracing his hand on the table as he watched the too small picture. He saw himself starting the hypnosis. He saw it progress like normal. Nothing was happening. Not a temperature drop, not a picture distortion, not even an odd knocking sound. He opened his mouth to ask exactly what was ‘enlightening’ when he saw it. 

“Lin! Rewind.”

Lin was already ready to do that. He rewound the recording and played it frame by frame. Kazuya watched the slowed down view of Ash twitching violently, something shaped like a shadowy clawed hand reaching around him to grab his arm. It disappeared for a frame, but by the next frame Ash was staring straight into the camera. Only his eyes had moved, the rest of him still relaxed and focused on the hypnosis. The eyes staring into the camera weren’t Ash’s blue ones, but a dark orange of something inhuman. 

Lin froze the image and Kazuya felt something cold run up his spine. “He’s possessed....”

“For that moment, yes. I saw it leave right after, then throw the hypnosis object.” Kazuya nodded and played the video at normal speed again. He watched as the clawed shadow hand appeared for the second that the cactus had jumped. Then it smacked it out of his hand, afterwards gently picking it up and placing it where it was still sitting on the table. 

Kazuya sighed softly. “So it’s not a possession then....” 

Lin shook his head. “It could be possible that it only appeared to be so in the camera. Did you notice anything while in the room?” Before Kazuya could answer ‘no’ Lin stiffened, a hand flying to the headphone that was still on. “Kazuya, there’s something going on in the boy’s room.” He flipped the camera back of to see things floating around Ash’s room. Ash himself was nowhere to be seen, possibly still in the corner which was now blocked by a desk with a tall backboard. There were several flashes of dark shapes rolling over the floor of Ash’s room, sending things flying and circling around them. 

Lin was up with a start, bolting out of the room and up the stairs. Kazuya watched him on the monitors as he burst into Ash’s room and whistled. His shikigami lashed out from him like a whip, aimed towards the tangle of shadowy limbs in the center of the cyclone. They broke apart, revealing three separate entities that arched and spat at the shikigami’s presence. One launched itself at Lin, but was quickly injured. It waited over the microphone and darted away, vanishing through the walls. The second and third seemed to follow suit, one darting through the window. But the third, the most visible one, shot towards the corner Ash was in. Lin didn’t seem to see it, looking around at the blurry spaces that they Shikigami appeared as through the monitors. Kazuya held his breath, waiting for something to happen. But for a long time, there was silence. Lin glanced up at the camera, then made his way towards the corner under it. 

Kazuya heard a soft curse and muttering from Ash. When Lin moved the desk, he stumbled out, holding his head. He looked dazed and confused, like something had hit him in the head. Kazuya watched as Lin sat him down in a misplaced chair and examine his eyes and his head. Then he gently helped the boy to his feet, leading him out of his room. Kazuya saw Ash grab his phone before he left, clutching it against his chest, next to his pentagram pendant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh I wonder what it could possibly be~ How strange~ :}
> 
> Let me know what you guys think!


	3. A Theory and a Revalation

Ash’s room was declared off limits until the end of the investigation. He was assigned to stay in the room Kazuya and Lin were sleeping, or supposed to be at least. He protested to be sure, but Kazuya had gotten his way in the end. He informed Lin ahead of time that he’d be conducting a private interview with Ash to see if he could glean any helpful information. 

Ash was stretched out on top of his sleeping bag, eyes closed and headphones on. His fingers tapped to a beat every so often, but not often enough for Kazuya to pick out what kind of music he was listening to. He approached Ash as casually as possible, already regretting having to do this himself. As he stood over Ash he remembered the the dark orange eyes that had looked into the camera. Lin still wasn’t sure if it had actually happened or if it just appeared to on the monitor. Spirits had a strange affect on their equipment after all and if one wanted to purposefully mess with it.... Kazuya shook his head slightly and nudged Ash with his foot. 

Ash cracked an eye open immediately, showing that he hadn’t been asleep. Thankfully, the color of his eye was his normal blue. He sat up, pausing his music and taking his headphones off. “Yeah? Do you need something?”

Kazuya resisted the urge to shoot a ‘help me Lin’ look at the camera in the corner of the room. “...May I sit...?” He tried to sound friendly. He wasn’t even convincing himself. But Ash scooted over and nodded. Kazuya sat down on the sleeping bag, facing Ash head on. “I have a few more questions.... They might be personal.”

Ash tilted his head, watching Kazuya’s neutral expression. “Sure. Ask away.”

Kazuya waisted no time. “Where is your father?”

“Probably dead. He disappeared years ago and nobody’s seen him since. He wasn’t the kind of man who’d abandon his family, so he’s probably dead.”

Kazuya’s eyebrows raised slightly from that answer. “You seem rather calm about it....” 

Ash have a half shrug. “I was... eight or nine... But I can’t remember much about him. Just a couple memories that I can’t really place on a timeline.” Ash fiddled with the cord of his headphones, staring at an old picture of a boat that was hanging on the wall. 

Kazuya leaned forward. “And...? What do you remember?”

Ash tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling with narrowed eyes. “Playing in the woods with him and our imaginary friends.” He snorted slightly, suppressing a laugh. “My big strong knight. There was this wild boar or something that always trampled our stick fort when we were away.” He shook his head and laughed. “I was such a weird child....”

Kazuya nodded slightly. He knew that feeling. But... he had his brother too.... Kazuya shook his head. “What else?”

Ash tapped his finger against his knee. “Well... Is this helping the investigation or are you being nosy? I’ll tell you either way, just wondering.” He looked Kazuya in the eyes and Kazuya couldn’t lie. 

“It’s a theory I’m testing.”

Ash nodded, apparently satisfied with that answer. “I remember... I think it was one of my last memories of him, though I’m not sure. I got lost in the woods behind our house. I went in too far or took a wrong turn or something. And... something was out there with me....” Ash closed his eyes and remembered vividly. “I don’t remember what it was, but it found me and was going to hurt me. Then dad appeared out of nowhere and chased the thing off. Or... maybe he just grabbed me and ran. It’s kind of fuzzy.” He opened his eyes and looked at Kazuya. “Dad disappeared about six months before everything started going crazy, if that’s what you were after.”

Kazuya pressed his lips together, narrowing his eyes in thought. “Have you ever... seen something that looked like a shadow? Like you see something, but when you turn your head to look, nothing’s there.”

Ash nodded. “Oh yeah. All the time. Mom said it’s my hair or something.”

“Any time you’re sure it wasn’t your hair or something?”

Ash nodded. “Oh yeah.” He said solemnly. “All the time. ...are those actually me seeing ghosts?”

Kazuya fought the urge to roll his eyes. People were so stupid. He nodded slowly. Ash seemed thoughtful as he fidgeted with his pentagram pendant. Kazuya watched him do it for a minute then spoke. “How long have you had that?”

Ash blinked and followed his eyes. “Oh...!” He apparently hadn’t realized he was fidgeting with it. “Since Dad died. It was his, but Mom said it was supposed to be a birthday present.” 

Kazuya raised his eyebrows curiously. “And... then she gave it to you.” He nodded. “About... a month before the haunting started.”

Kazuya looked up at the camera. Lin must thought the same thing he did. That necklace was a critical piece of this puzzle. He was about to ask about ‘borrowing’ it when the door burst open. 

Kazuya looked up and didn’t see anything. He narrowed his eyes and stood up, looking around. He glanced towards the camera and felt a swath of cold air wash over him. Ash seemed to stiffen behind him. “Uh... um.... Mr. Kazuya sir...?” Kazuya looked back at him and saw that Ash’s face was deathly pale. “Th- something has my leg....” Kazuya’s eyes widened, but he had just a moment before Ash was yanked sideways. The sleeping bag under Kazuya’s foot was yanked along with him, throwing Kazuya off balance. He collided with the floor and smacked his head so hard he saw stars. Something wizzed over his head, slamming into the wall behind him. He forced his eyes open, prepared to see Lin’s shikigami, but instead he saw something black and not entirely present. It righted itself and faced towards the place Ash had been dragged off to. Kazuya made the inelegant decision to not draw its attention. But, since it was nearly on top of him, Kazuya was finally able to see it clearly. 

The shadow was humanoid, barely. It was bigger than Lin. Its skin was sunken and clung to bones that were miss-proportioned. Shorter legs and longer arms that left it to stand on all fours in a kind of hunch. Its spine poked through its back with a myriad of spines, some of which were broken and bloody. It had long claws instead of fingers, and teeth like a shark’s. Its eye sockets were the only thing about it that looked actually real, deep voids in existence that seemed to radiate bloodlust. 

It took a swaying step forward, claws scraping lightly against the wood floor. A low bone chilling growl emanated from its throat as its eye sockets fixed on Ash, who was lying prone, underneath another creature. 

The creature standing over Ash was something else entirely. It shifted from moment to moment, one minute the shape of a panther, the next a humanoid with large wings and small horns. After a few shifts Kazuya was able to pick out a few traits that stayed the same even as its form changed. It always had claws that were kept unfurled, sharp, bared teeth that looked like some kind of animal he couldn’t place, and dark orange eyes, the same ones from the recording. It bared its teeth, snarling at the boney creature like issuing a challenge or a warning. 

The boney creature shrieked and leapt forward. The shifting creature did the same. They collided in mid air, their forms blurring together in a tangle of limbs and shrieks and shadows. 

Lin chose that moment to appear in the doorway. His eyes scanned over the scene before him and he dashed over to Kazuya as Ash scrambled to his feet. Lin didn’t bother to see if Kazuya was okay, just slinging him over his shoulder and taking off. Ash made it to the door before them, holding it ready. As soon as they were through he slammed it shut and pressed his back against it, eyes wild with fear. Lin slapped a charm on the door and yanked Ash away from it. The charm glowed brightly for a moment, then dimmed. 

Lin panted as he gently set Kazuya down, leaning him against the wall. “[Can you see alright?]” He asked in Japanese. Kazuya nodded, closing his eyes against the headache. Lin’s fingers filtered though his hair, finding the rising knot at the back of his head. “[Have you ever seen anything like those before?]” Kazuya shook his head again. He opened his eye to see Ash staring at the door. He looked thoughtful. 

“What are you thinking?” Kazuya asked, nudging Lin to observe as well. 

“That one... protected both of us....” He looked down at Kazuya. “Mostly. It made sure that spiney one didn’t land on either of us.” Kazuya nodded in agreement, waiting for him to continue. “I... I don’t... I think the shapeshifting one was trying to save us....”

Kazuya nodded, looking up at Lin. “[I think the father was an Omnyoji, or rather something similar, the western version or so.]”

“[You think he summoned those things?]”

Kazuya nodded solemnly, slowly forcing himself to stand. “Have you seen either of those before?” Ash shook his head slightly, tracing his finger over the star of his pentagram pendant. Kazuya thought for a long moment, trying to think of how to phrase his next question. “Did your father practice any strange rituals or anything?”

There was a sharp gasp from down the hallway. Willow stood there in her nightgown with her hands over her mouth. “H-how did you know?”

Kazuya’s eyebrows rose slightly. “You knew about that....” 

She nodded, looking down at her hands. “I... I need to sit down....” She headed towards the living room, her hand braces against the wall. Lin followed after her, most likely to stop her from falling. Kazuya looked back at Ash, who was staring at the seal on the door. 

“It’s trapped in there....”

“Yes.”

“The one that helped us is too....” 

“...yes.”

“Ha- should we just leave it in there...?”

“For now.” Kazuya put on his best ‘I’m actually my brother’ smile and put his hand on Ash’s shoulder. “Just focus on this for now. We can figure out what to do with it later.” 

Ash nodded slightly. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and chewed his lip. There was a small scraping sound as the vase on the table behind him moved ever so slightly. “My music is in there, my phone....”

“You can get it later.” Kazuya moves towards the living room, eager to hear the explanation about the father. Ash followed him soundlessly, tapping an uneven rhythm on his leg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm~ Last chance to actually guess at what’s goong on with the dad and the shadows. ;3 I wonder what it is....


	4. Answers and Another Question

Willow was curled up on the couch with her head in her hands. She was rocking back and forth ever so slightly. Joe was in there as well, looking partly concerned, partly annoyed. Lin knelt in front of Willow, his hand on her knee as he tried to calm her down. Kazuya looked around the room, looking for any sign of the final shadow creature. Ash brushed past him, going to sit next to his mother. Lin stood and moved away, moving to stand next to Kazuya. 

After a few moments and several comforting words from Ash, Willow lifted her head and started her story. “Alexander... my late husband, he was always interested in the occult. He liked the aesthetic of it, the sigils, the crystals, things like that. Our first house was absolutely covered in the stuff, until I made him take most of it down when Ash was born. He had his one room for the occult stuff and a few nicknacks he talked me into keeping scattered around as decoration and such, but... he gave it up! Right after Ash was born he packed most of it up!”

Joe clicked his tongue. “I thought he gave that crap up in high school.... Somebody punched him out over it for wearing some of it to class.” He shook his head, then looked up at Kazuya and Lin. “Are you telling me this crap is related to my brother’s weird hobby?”

Kazuya felt a slight bitter taste in his mouth from how the two of them had treated that man. Wasn’t he allowed to have his own beliefs and... Kazuya closed his eyes, pushing the thoughts away. “That is a distinct possibility. These spirits are unlike any ghosts or spirits I’m familiar with. It’s possible that they’re native to this region or linked with—Alexander was it?—his practices.” He looked up at Lin, who was deep in thought. “It’s similar to how an Onmyoji can create shiki correct?”

Lin blinked then nodded. “But it’s strange. There should be some item that’s keeping them linked to the material plane. If they’re strong enough to pull people around that easily... it must be something powerful on its own.”

Willow gasped slightly. “I still have most of Alexander’s things! They’re packed up in the hall closet.” She leapt to her feet. “There should be some way to get rid of them!” She ran off, the door slamming behind her. 

Kazuya felt the pulsing of an oncoming headache. He pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. “I do have a theory about one of them....” He looked up at Ash, eyes focusing in on the pentagram necklace. Just as he was about to mention it, Willow’s scream tore through the house. Lin was the first one out of the room. Kazuya could see the rippling air of his shikigami ready to spring. The rest of them followed his lead, heading to the upstairs closet. 

 

Willow was cowering on the ground with her hands over her head as the boney shadow creature advanced on her. Kazuya felt his blood run cold. If that spirit was here, that meant Lin’s charm hadn’t held. Lin’s shikigami sliced through the air towards the creature, knocking it away. Kazuya ran forward to kneel by Willow, helping her sit up as the creature bounded away. Lin sighed as his shikigami returned to him, his shoulders slumped with exhaustion. 

Kazuya helped Willow to her feet as she put almost all of her weight on him. She was shaking and mumbling incoherently, tears streaming from her eyes. Ash came over to help support her, rubbing her back soothingly. Kazuya closed his eyes and rolled things over in his head. Something was... wrong about this picture. It was... to small....

“There...,” Willow mumbled. She pointed towards the closet. “There’s three boxes of his things.... Do whatever you want with them... I can’t....” Her voice broke. She pressed her face against Ash’s shoulder and started sobbing. Kazuya left her to Ash, stepping up to the closet and throwing open the doors. 

It... was a closet, with boxes in it. Kazuya didn’t know what he was expecting, but that was a little anticlimactic. He looked over the boxes and pulled out the three that were labeled ‘Alexander.’ Time to get started.   
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.  
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After putting his mother to bed, with his uncle acting as a guard, Ash joined Kazuya and Lin in their research room. He kept glancing towards the connected bedroom, but didn’t say anything about it. He helped them shift through his father’s things. There were a lot of notebooks, full of half-legible scribbles and impressively detailed sketches. Kazuya saw several notebooks primarily about psychic powers. He set them aside for later. Ash found one half filled notebook about Onmyodo. Lin managed to find the one with the sketches of the boney creature. 

“Apparently this is a breed of ‘daemon’ so there is more than one. They’re summoned by ‘the lady that lives in the forrest’.”

“That’s some name...” Ash mumbled, shifting through a notebook with a pentagram on the cover.”

Kazuya hummed. “It tells us more than a proper name at least.” He made a note on his own notebook. 

Ash hissed and dropped one side of the notebook. He stuck his finger in his mouth and mumbled about paper cuts being the worst thing ever created. Kazuya hummed a small note of agreement then froze, a small chill running up his back. He turned around, staring at the wall that was connected to the cordoned off bedroom. Lin raised his head to look at him, then clicked his tongue, subtly gesturing for Kazuya to look at Ash. 

Kazuya raised his eyebrows as he saw one of the notebooks Ash had set behind him scoot across the floor, moving away from him. For half a moment, a shadowy clawed hand appeared and swatted the notebook back towards him. Ash blinked and turned around, having missed everything. Kazuya looked at Lin and a moment of silent understanding passed between them. The orange eyed spirit was fixing everything strange around Ash before he could see it. That explained why he didn’t notice any activity around him. But as to what could be causing the activity that the orange eyed spirit was fixing....

Kazuya glanced at the pile of notebooks he had set aside, deciding that reading them now might just fill in the last few pieces for this picture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My lovely beta reader and best friend has correctally guessed what the spirits are and that Ash’s father was a witch. Let’s see if she can figure out this last little mystery. ;3 <3

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys like it so far. I really like Ghost Hunt and wish it had more stuff, especially for anime fans. -,-
> 
> Let me know what you think! ^<^


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